Strangely, even though I am used to life and portrait classes, I found this much more intense. Being the one to set up the model, in this case my husband Glyn, and just for me, seemed to put more pressure on me. I timed each pose for 2 minutes although, I ran over a few seconds to put in the last definitive lines. No time to measure first in these but checked proportions afterwards and in the main were ok. Figures 3 & 4, however, did run off the page. I decided to use larger paper and put them onto one sheet to see a series of drawings and:-

as using charcoal wanted room to use freely

as there was a very limited time (2 minutes), a sense of urgency usually means I work larger

this also helps the general proportions as I subconsciously compare each as I go.

After the first two sketches, I asked Glyn to not use the lap top as it added another element that was a step too far in the time limited pose. I could also see more of the figure to compare landmarks.

Make two 10 minute drawings. Be free in your use of charcoal or graphite across the paper. Try not to erase any incorrect lines.

Pose 1
Again, I didn’t measure prior to drawing, although afterwards it seems I am a “head” short. However, this doesn’t make the proportions look particularly wrong, possibly because the model is seated and the bottom half is twisted towards me, which gives some foreshortening.

I was aware, in particular of the planes of the head, as I had a 3/4 view. thinking of a cube shape I indicated the top, near side and front of the head to give the directions of the gaze. This helped position the rest of the figure too and showed the twist of the pose i.e. the head looking at the TV ahead, the torso following the same direction and the lower body and legs pointing more towards me. I also tried to indicate the planes of the knees to show the bend in the joints. My main challenges due to time were the arms. The out-stretched arm on the left almost doesn’t fit the paper. I was going to crop down the paper to the drawing size but realised I would be obliterating a valuable lesson regarding the figure’s placement. I had plenty of room but hadn’t use it appropriately. The arm on the right hasn’t been described fully and the foreshortening hasn’t been completed resulting in making it look too short and odd. I was happy with the placement of the shoulders, though, as it truly reflects how the head was sunken into them in a relaxed position.

Pose 2
A slightly different pose withy crossed legs. Again started with the planes of the head, once the general shape was done, I roughly sketched down the body. I tried to give the figure more solidity in its background and was more definite about the lines. Unfortunately, Glyn forgot himself and uncrossed his legs which, when reminded, were recrossed but slightly differently. I carried on trying to adapt to the very small difference. However, it was significant enough to throw the drawing out. The time elapsed and I measured the drawing and it came up short again. Foreshortening wasn’t the reason this time as the lower body and legs were more in line with the torso. After a break, I asked Glyn to just sit with his legs crossed so I could look at what went wrong and attempted to correct the error. Unfortunately, I couldn’t quite sort it out although the proportions are now correct the pose itself is not. I think that for the longer pose I will arrange the model more thoughtfully ensuring not only comfort but interest. The short pose 4 & 5 were interesting to look at.

Do some more drawings of this pose, perhaps moving your chair to a different position and changing your drawing medium.

Additional sketch from different position and different medium. I was seated for this sketch whereas I was standing for the others. I think I have distorted my drawing because of this – I have noticed this before in life classes – if the support is tilted and leaning away from me, I enlarge the lower half of the figure.

Only one additional study done this time, as both of us were flagging!

Have you managed to make a complete statement in this time? What were your main problems?

Short Poses: the 2 minute poses forced me to look at the figure and simplify the drawing. The first one always instills a sense of panic and I try too hard, subsequent attempts are more fluid and show outline and placement of key parts of the figure and its environment.

Quick Poses – 2 minutes eachCharcoal on approx A2 sugar paper

Quick Poses – 2 minutes eachCharcoal on approx A2 sugar paper

The 10 minute poses were the most problematic for me – it’s enough time to repeat the steps in the 2 minute ones but then I begin to fiddle with certain areas instead of looking at the overall subject.

Quick poses 10 minuteCharcoal on approx A2 sugar paper

Quick poses 10 minuteCharcoal on approx A2 sugar paper

The Longer Pose: I enjoyed this exercise and splitting the hour into 20 minute sittings with a 5-10 minute break worked well. In the first third, I concentrated on outline, placement and proportion, in the next, tone and limited colour – finally in the last 20 minutes, I reiterated line and structure and worked on the face and folds in the T-shirt. The breaks also allowed me to stand back from the drawing and re-evaluate progress.

The main challenge of the longer pose was for the model – I don’t think my husband believed how hard it would be to keep still for 20 minutes, I did try to warn him. Hopefully, he’ll still be willing to volunteer. Plus the ratio of the paper and fitting in the entire drawing – see last point below.

How well have you captured the characteristics of the pose?

I think this was a little hit and miss in the beginning, short pose 2, 4 ,& 5 came across, but am not sure about the 10 minute ones. In the longer pose I think the character came across strongly – more so than the accuracy, which is probably why I like it.

Do the proportions look right? If not, how will you try to improve this?

Unexpectedly, I think the proportions look better in the 2 minute sketches. The hour-long pose tends to look right but I know the struggle I had, so I’m not totally convinced. It was interesting that the model said immediately that the proportions were right and he hadn’t been prepped beforehand that this was the purpose of the project. I need to look at it with fresh eyes.

To improve, I could either draw smaller to avoid the feel of squeezing the figure on the paper, or, which I’d rather, re-think the ratios of the paper. The 10 minute sketches were the same size but the paper ratio was better in that the width and height were closer in size.